Clinical pharmacokinetics worksheet with answers

Free printable Clinical pharmacokinetics worksheet: 6 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

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1.Easy
110t (h)C (mg/L)6 mg/L6.5 hC = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). Just after an IV dose, the tobramycin level is 6 mg/L. The half-life is 3 h, and the drug is eliminated by first-order kinetics. What is the level C 6.5 h later?

C₀ = 6 mg/Lt½ = 3 ht = 6.5 h
C = mg/L
2.Easy
t/t½C/Css (%)100%1f = ?

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives vancomycin as a constant IV infusion without a loading dose. The half-life is 12 h. What percentage f of the steady-state level has been reached after 12 h?

t½ = 12 ht = 12 h
f = %
3.Medium
110t (h)C (mg/L)C₀ = 8 mg/Lt½ = 2.5 hC₀/2

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient receives an IV bolus of 170 mg of tobramycin. The level back-extrapolated to time zero is 8 mg/L and the half-life is 2.5 h. Find the clearance CL in L/h.

D = 170 mgC₀ = 8 mg/Lt½ = 2.5 h
CL = L/h
4.Medium
110100t (h)C (mg/L)2 h10 mg/L8 h2.5 mg/L

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). After an IV dose of tobramycin, the level is 10 mg/L at 2 h and 2.5 mg/L at 8 h. Assume first-order elimination. Find the elimination rate constant k.

C1 = 10 mg/L (2 h)C2 = 2.5 mg/L (8 h)
k = h⁻¹
5.Hard
0.1110t (h)C (mg/L)Cpeak​ = 8τ = ?Ctrough​ = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A patient's gentamicin half-life is 4 h. The target is a peak of 8 mg/L and a trough of 1 mg/L. Assuming rapid IV doses and first-order elimination, what dosing interval τ lets the level fall from the peak to the trough? Round to one decimal place.

t½ = 4 hCpeak = 8 mg/LCtrough = 1 mg/L
τ = h
6.Hard
VCss,avg​ = 10 mg/LD = ? mg · q8hCL = 0.04 L/kg/h75 kg · S = 0.8 · F = 1

Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 75 kg patient takes oral aminophylline (S = 0.8, F = 1) every 8 h. The theophylline clearance is 0.04 L/kg/h. What dose D in mg gives an average steady-state level of 10 mg/L?

CL = 0.04 L/kg/hτ = 8 hS = 0.8F = 175 kgCss,avg = 10 mg/L
D = mg

Answer key

  1. 1. C = 1.336 mg/L
  2. 2. f = 50 %
  3. 3. CL = 5.892 L/h
  4. 4. k = 0.231 h⁻¹
  5. 5. τ = 12 h
  6. 6. D = 300 mg

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